This is the way an X-files movie should begin, cavemen and aliens in icy tunnels. That’s the mix of beautiful creepy madness that makes the X-files what it is. The short description I read of the film simply said: Agents Scully and Mulder have to stop an alien invasion of Earth. Boxes ticked in the opening scene.
The score is wonderfully classic nineties orchestral. The definition of what most folks would call ‘Cinematic’. Keeping the entire production feeling as serious and as spooky as is required for an X-files flick.
As the plot plays out we see the sort of motifs and tropes I love from an X-files experience. Helicopters in the night, tents in the desert and Mulder conning his way into places he shouldn’t be allowed in order to find the Truth. Government cover-ups and aliens gestating in human bodies while turning them to jelly. This is what I want from an X-files movie and this classic 1990’s version doesn’t dick around in terms of getting down into it. The weirdness comes from scene 1.
The premise is basically a xenomorphic scenario: aliens use humans to breed. Some exposition about how it’s a prehistoric virus adds a little flavour to the feast but the main event is the climax at the underground lair hidden beneath a tundra. The colours in the lighting and the special effects are peak nineties production design. As the characters move between classically creepy cornfields and subterranean laboratories everything unfolds in a wonderfully adventurous plot.
Mulder gets his vindication through his own experience and Scully witnesses enough to become a believer herself. But the gears of big government grind their hope to dust and the familiar taste of disappointment that comes from being a person in an unforgiving state apparatus reaches the back of the throat and activates the gag reflex (if you have one). Perhaps there are bootlickers out there who would applaud the government’s efforts in this film but the sane among you humans should recognise that they’re the bad guys.
It’s a fun flick from the franchise and I could probably watch it again. This one is ape approved. You don’t need to believe in aliens or anything else to enjoy this movie because it seems everyone involved in this believed in making it.
